WORLD COSPLAY SUMMIT TEAM USA AT KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORE ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 17!

Norwalk, CT, August 11, 2008: The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) today announced it is partnering with Del Rey Manga and Samurai Beat Radio to hold a Cosplay Day at the largest Japanese bookstore in North America -- New York City's Kinokuniya Bookstore -- on Sunday, August 17. Kinokuniya Bookstore, located at 1073 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, will present a day-long series of events showcasing the diverse world of Japanese cosplay and the World Cosplay Summit -- an international cosplay event held each summer in Nagoya, Japan. Sonnya Paz and Renee Gloger, Team USA in the 2008 World Cosplay Summit, will attend Kinokuniya's Cosplay Day as Special Guests.

"We're extremely pleased to form this partnership with Del Rey Manga and Samurai Beat Radio and I think the Cosplay Day at Kinokuniya will be fabulous," New York Anime Festival Show Manager Lance Fensterman said. "These partners are key players in the anime world and I think Cosplay Day underscores that we have become a key player, too! We want to celebrate the passion of cosplayers and accomplishments of Sonnya and Renee, and there is no better home for this than Kinokuniya Bookstore."

The New York Anime Festival is an anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture convention from the creators of New York Comic Con and will take place September 26th through the 28th at the Jacob Javits Center in New York, NY.

Cosplay is short for "costume play" and is one of the most vivid and creative aspects of anime fandom. At its center is the creation and wearing of costumes based on a fan's favorite anime or manga character. The World Cosplay Summit is the Olympics of Cosplay, an annual event which draws cosplayers chosen from around the world for a competition before judges including some of Japan's most iconic anime and manga creators. This year, countries including Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, and the USA sent representatives to the World Cosplay Summit.

Kinokuniya's Cosplay Day will include special all-day activities as well as a series of cosplay-themed presentations…
Kinokuniya Cosplay Day All-Day Events

Anime And Manga Discount: Any customer who comes into Kinokuniya Bookstore at 1073 Avenue of the Americas on Sunday, August 17 wearing anime, manga, or video game cosplay will receive 10% off all anime and manga purchases.

Cosplay Day Giveaway: All customers who come into Kinokuniya Bookstore can enter to win a number of prizes from Del Rey Manga and the New York Anime Festival. Winners will be drawn at 5:30 PM, and customers must be present to claim their prizes.

Kinokuniya Cosplay Day Event Schedule

3:00 to 4:00 PM: World Cosplay Summit Memories. The World Cosplay Summit -- the Olympics of Cosplay -- was held earlier this month in Japan, and two girls from Queens represented America in this international event. Team USA's now back in NYC, and they've come to Kinokuniya to talk about their trip to Japan and experiences in the World Cosplay Summit. Sonnya Paz and Renee Gloger will spend an hour speaking about what it was like being crowned Team USA, what it was like winning a trip to Japan, and how they felt going up against cosplayers on the international stage!

4:00 to 4:30 PM: Cosplay Q&A. Got a question about cosplay? Curious about beadwork? Don't know the best fabrics, metals, and woods to work with? Sonnya Paz and Renee Gloger will answer all your questions -- beginner to advanced -- so that one day you, too, will be good enough to compete in the Olympics of Cosplay.

4:30-5:00 PM: Samurai Beat Radio. Samurai Beat Radio, broadcast in 26 cities in Japan, comes to Kinokuniya to record a special, live show. Samurai Beat Radio will interview Sonnya Paz and Renee Gloger as well as cosplaying attendees to find out the who, what, where, when, and why Americans cosplay. This is a chance to get your voice heard throughout Japan!

5:30 PM: Raffle Drawing. Free tickets to the New York Anime Festival and Del Rey Manga prize packages are up for grabs in the Cosplay Day Giveaway. Customers can enter all day long, and to win, they'll have to be present at 5:30 PM for the giveaway's drawing.

Kinokuniya Bookstore, Del Rey Manga, the New York Anime Festival, and Samurai Beat Radio invite anime fans and New Yorkers up for a unique and unforgettable experience to come out to Cosplay Day at Kinokuniya on Sunday, August 17!

ABOUT KINOKUNIYA:
Japanese Arts, Cooking, Fashion and Anime. More than a bookstore, Kinokuniya is a community where New Yorkers gather to relax, sit at a café, and meet internationally acclaimed writers and artists. Kinokuniya is the New York subsidiary of Kinokuniya Company, LTD, the world's leading Japanese bookstore which operates 84 stores internationally. Founded in 1927, Kinokuniya's first store opened in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. Today, Kinokuniya has developed into a large-scale bookstore chain with the goal of providing Japanese living abroad with information from home as quickly as possible and introducing Japanese tradition and culture to the local community. For more information please visit the flagship US store location at 1073 Avenues of the Americas (between 40th and 41st Streets) or on the web at kinokuniya.com.

ABOUT THE WORLD COSPLAY SUMMIT:
The World Cosplay Summit began in the fall of 2003. Born from the concept that cosplayers play a leading role in introducing Japanese manga and animation to people around the world, the event wanted to bring international cosplayers "home" to Japan to showcase their costumes and skill. The event is held annually, with preliminary competitions taking place around the world -- and the Championships taking place each summer in Japan. Each year, judges include creators of some of Japan's most iconic anime and manga, and past judges have included Leiji Matsumoto, Go Nagai, and Monkey Punch. In 2007, Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Japan all participated in the World Cosplay Summit. The winners of the World Cosplay Summit Masquerade crowned at the New York Anime Festival will fly to Japan to serve as Team USA in the 2009 Championships. For more, please visit http://www.tv-aichi.co.jp/wcs/e/.

ABOUT DEL REY MANGA:Del Rey Books (delreybooks.com) was founded in 1977 as an imprint of Ballantine Books, a division of the Random House Publishing Group, under the guidance of the renowned Judy-Lynn Del Rey and her husband, Lester Del Rey. Del Rey publishes the best of modern fantasy, science fiction, and alternate history. Ballantine Books is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, which is a publishing group of Random House, Inc, the US publishing company of Random House, the trade book publishing division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's leading international media companies. In 2004, it expanded by launching Del Rey Manga (delreymanga.com), which has grown to be a major force in the US graphic novel field. Bestselling titles include Tsubasa, Negima, xxxHOLiC, and The Wallflower.

ABOUT SAMURAI BEAT RADIO:
Samurai Beat Radio is the multimedia project which brings the world the latest and hottest music directly from Japan. It is broadcast on World Musix Live to 26 stations across Japan via Japan FM Network affiliated with Tokyo FM. Check out samuraibeatradio.com for past and future events and broadcasts.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL:
The New York Anime Festival takes place September 26-28, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan and is organized by Reed Exhibitions, the creators of New York Comic Con. The New York Anime Festival showcases the best of anime pop culture, including the latest anime, manga, Japanese cinema, music, and games, and anime-influenced comics, animation, and films from around the world. The festival features exclusive and extensive screenings, a gala cosplaymasquerade, sessions with the some of the biggest names in anime from Japan, Asia, and America, and explores the Japanese cultural experience with displays of both traditional and cutting-edge Japanese life. NYAF's partners include Anime News Network, Bandai Entertainment, BookExpo America, Del Rey Manga, DigitalLife, Free Arts NYC, Japan Society, Karaterice, Kinokuniya Bookstore, New York Comic Con, Samurai Beat Radio, Subway Cinema, TheOtaku.com, TOKYOPOP, VIZ Pictures, and the World Cosplay Summit. Further information can be found at newyorkanimefestival.com.

ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS:
The New York Anime Festival is operated by Reed Exhibitions, the world's leading events organizer. In 2007, Reed brought together over six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today, Reed events are held in 38 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and organized by 39 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc, a FTSE-100 company and world-leading publisher and information provider. In 2006, Reed Elsevier made adjusted profit before taxation of £1,052 million on turnover of £5,398 million.

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